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Description

October 15, 1981

The divers have finally found it. Though broken, pitted, mostly buried in the seafloor, and barely in one piece after almost 4,000 years beneath the waves, they have found the final resting place of the Greek Kraken, possibly the most powerful and feared monster of the the ancient world's most powerful and feared monsters.

The Kraken must have been gargantuan, rivaling even Godzilla himself in sheer mass. While extracting the entire marble statue from the seabed intact would be almost completely impossible, a number of seismic readings have been taken about the area. They show what appears to have been a creature with a massive, ichthyoid tail, four long, powerful arms, a vaguely humanoid torso, and a grotesque head that - to the surprise of many - most closely resembles the strange "Ymir" creature that rampaged through Rome in 1957. Analysis of the stone shows it to be solid marble, with no visible changes in the grain or appearance to reflect the presence of internal organs.

In ancient Greek legend, the Kraken was the last of the Titans, a truly ancient race older than even the Olympian gods. It is said that when a god needed to make a particular example of some uppity mortals, Poseidon would let loose the Kraken to punish them. The Kraken, according to legend, destroyed the city of Argos on Zeus's command. This happened when Argos's king attempted to rid himself of his daughter Danae and her illegitimate infant son Perseus, himself a son of Zeus, by trapping them alive in a box and throwing them into the sea, ensuring their doom without directly killing them and drawing the wrath of the gods. It didn't work on either count; Argos was obliterated by the Kraken, the king was slain by Zeus's own hand, and Danae and Perseus washed ashore on a distant beach.

Twenty years later, Perseus was wed to Princess Andromeda of the city of Joppa after he had freed the city of a dreadful curse. The wedding was presided over by Queen Cassiopeia, Andromeda's mother, and held in the temple of the sea goddess Thetis. Unfortunately, Cassiopeia attracted the wrath of Thetis when she compared herself and her daughter's beauty to Thetis herself. The furious goddess, who was already unhappy with Perseus for maiming her son Calibos, decreed that Andromeda would be sacrificed to the Kraken in thirty days' time. Perseus responded by traveling to the Island of the Dead, beheading the gorgon Medusa (whose gaze could turn anything it made eye contact with to stone, even after being beheaded), returning to Joppa, and using Medusa's gaze to petrify the Kraken before tossing the horrible head into the sea. According to legend, the stone Kraken then broke apart under its own tremendous weight, and collapsed into the ocean. Several pieces of pottery and a mural found inside the ruins have given us our best interpretation of the Kraken's true appearance, from which I have reconstructed this sketch.

It remains unknown how Medusa's head returned to dry land, where we rediscovered it just a month ago, but its place in the box seems to have been a precaution to ensure it could never be found or used again. Since the head is no longer nearly so fearsome or effective as a weapon any longer, but still deadly in its own right, it has been permanently sealed away in an undisclosed location by the Greek government (though Israel is apparently protesting this, claiming it as one of its own national treasures). A handful of people have been suggesting that the skull be further studied for its terrifying properties, or even potentially used as a future weapon against other kaiju. Since myth holds that seeing the reflection of the head has no power, some have suggested studying it safely with a system of mirrors, closed-circuit cameras, or specialized lenses. However, nobody seems willing to be the first to attempt any of these methods, especially since the slowed rate of cancerous reaction means that testing the effect is nearly impossible. The Greek government also isn't budging, and it's unlikely to do so in the future. The exhumed remains of the Kraken that HAVE been extracted are scheduled to go on display in a number of museums across the world.

April 5, 2009

I have been consulted once again for the new video game series based on Perseus's legend that's due to be released soon. Apparently, the game series is intended to be a trilogy, with the names "Clash of the Titans", "Wrath of the Titans", and "Force of the Trojans" being bandied about. They're pure fiction, but they look like fun. The problem is, apparently that idiot Professor Roxton is also in on the project. He's managed to convince the game developers to make the Kraken look like his own idiot interpretation, a beast with a smooth head, two arms, and four massive crablike legs. I have no idea where he gets these ideas.

Reality check: this is the Kraken from "Clash of the Titans". I do not own the rights, etc, etc...

Description

October 15, 1981

The divers have finally found it. Though broken, pitted, mostly buried in the seafloor, and barely in one piece after almost 4,000 years beneath the waves, they have found the final resting place of the Greek Kraken, possibly the most powerful and feared monster of the the ancient world's most powerful and feared monsters.

The Kraken must have been gargantuan, rivaling even Godzilla himself in sheer mass. While extracting the entire marble statue from the seabed intact would be almost completely impossible, a number of seismic readings have been taken about the area. They show what appears to have been a creature with a massive, ichthyoid tail, four long, powerful arms, a vaguely humanoid torso, and a grotesque head that - to the surprise of many - most closely resembles the strange "Ymir" creature that rampaged through Rome in 1957. Analysis of the stone shows it to be solid marble, with no visible changes in the grain or appearance to reflect the presence of internal organs.

In ancient Greek legend, the Kraken was the last of the Titans, a truly ancient race older than even the Olympian gods. It is said that when a god needed to make a particular example of some uppity mortals, Poseidon would let loose the Kraken to punish them. The Kraken, according to legend, destroyed the city of Argos on Zeus's command. This happened when Argos's king attempted to rid himself of his daughter Danae and her illegitimate infant son Perseus, himself a son of Zeus, by trapping them alive in a box and throwing them into the sea, ensuring their doom without directly killing them and drawing the wrath of the gods. It didn't work on either count; Argos was obliterated by the Kraken, the king was slain by Zeus's own hand, and Danae and Perseus washed ashore on a distant beach.

Twenty years later, Perseus was wed to Princess Andromeda of the city of Joppa after he had freed the city of a dreadful curse. The wedding was presided over by Queen Cassiopeia, Andromeda's mother, and held in the temple of the sea goddess Thetis. Unfortunately, Cassiopeia attracted the wrath of Thetis when she compared herself and her daughter's beauty to Thetis herself. The furious goddess, who was already unhappy with Perseus for maiming her son Calibos, decreed that Andromeda would be sacrificed to the Kraken in thirty days' time. Perseus responded by traveling to the Island of the Dead, beheading the gorgon Medusa (whose gaze could turn anything it made eye contact with to stone, even after being beheaded), returning to Joppa, and using Medusa's gaze to petrify the Kraken before tossing the horrible head into the sea. According to legend, the stone Kraken then broke apart under its own tremendous weight, and collapsed into the ocean. Several pieces of pottery and a mural found inside the ruins have given us our best interpretation of the Kraken's true appearance, from which I have reconstructed this sketch.

It remains unknown how Medusa's head returned to dry land, where we rediscovered it just a month ago, but its place in the box seems to have been a precaution to ensure it could never be found or used again. Since the head is no longer nearly so fearsome or effective as a weapon any longer, but still deadly in its own right, it has been permanently sealed away in an undisclosed location by the Greek government (though Israel is apparently protesting this, claiming it as one of its own national treasures). A handful of people have been suggesting that the skull be further studied for its terrifying properties, or even potentially used as a future weapon against other kaiju. Since myth holds that seeing the reflection of the head has no power, some have suggested studying it safely with a system of mirrors, closed-circuit cameras, or specialized lenses. However, nobody seems willing to be the first to attempt any of these methods, especially since the slowed rate of cancerous reaction means that testing the effect is nearly impossible. The Greek government also isn't budging, and it's unlikely to do so in the future. The exhumed remains of the Kraken that HAVE been extracted are scheduled to go on display in a number of museums across the world.

April 5, 2009

I have been consulted once again for the new video game series based on Perseus's legend that's due to be released soon. Apparently, the game series is intended to be a trilogy, with the names "Clash of the Titans", "Wrath of the Titans", and "Force of the Trojans" being bandied about. They're pure fiction, but they look like fun. The problem is, apparently that idiot Professor Roxton is also in on the project. He's managed to convince the game developers to make the Kraken look like his own idiot interpretation, a beast with a smooth head, two arms, and four massive crablike legs. I have no idea where he gets these ideas.

Reality check: this is the Kraken from "Clash of the Titans". I do not own the rights, etc, etc...